• Title/Summary/Keyword: biopolymers

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Analysis of Polymer Characteristics Using Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (말디토프 질량분석을 이용한 고분자의 특성분석)

  • Kang, Min-Jung;Seong, Yunseo;Kim, Moon-Ju;Kim, Myung Soo;Pyun, Jae-Chul
    • Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.263-271
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    • 2017
  • The application of mass spectrometry to polymer science has rapidly increased since the development of MALDI-TOF MS. This review summarizes current polymer analysis methods using MALDI-TOF MS, which has been extensively applied to analyze the average molecular weight of biopolymers and synthetic polymers. Polymer sequences have also been analyzed to reveal the structures and composition of monomers. In addition, the analysis of unknown end-groups and the determination of polymer concentrations are very important applications. Hyphenated techniques using MALDI-tandem MS have been used for the analysis of fragmentation patterns and end-groups, and also the combination of SEC and MALDI-TOF MS techniques is recommended for the analysis of complex polymers. Moreover, MALDI-TOF MS has been utilized for the observation of polymer degradation. Ion mobility MS, TOF-SIMS, and MALDI-TOF-imaging are also emerging technologies for polymer characterization because of their ability to automatically fractionate and localize polymer samples. The determination of polymer characteristics and their relation to the material properties is one of the most important demands for polymer scientists; the development of software and instrument for higher molecular mass range (> 100 kD) will increase the applications of MALDI-TOF MS for polymer scientists.

Enhancement of Antimicrobial Activity of Nano-Encapsulated Horseradish Aqueous Extracts Against Food-Borne Pathogens (고추냉이 수용성 추출물의 나노 입자화를 통한 식중독 미생물에 대한 항균 활성 증진)

  • Seo, Yong-Chang;Choi, Woon-Yong;Kim, Ji-Seon;Zou, Yun-Yun;Lee, Choon-Geun;Ahn, Ju-Hee;Shin, Il-Shik;Lee, Hyeon-Yong
    • Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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    • v.18 no.6
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    • pp.389-397
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    • 2010
  • This work was to improve antimicrobial activities of horseradish by encapsulated with edible biopolymers such as lecithin and gelatin since it has been difficult to directly use horseradish extracts into foods and food containers due to its strong and undesirable flavors. It was shown that most of the nanoparticles containing the extracts were well formed in round shape with below 400 nm diameter as well as fairly stable and less odd flavors in various pH ranges by measuring zeta potentials. The encapsulation efficiencies of nanoparticles were estimated as 66.6% and 53.4% for lecithin and gelatin, respectively. Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of both nanoparticles against G(+), Listeria monocytogenes and G(-), Salmonella typhimurium were also measured as 79 ppm based on AIT concentrations in the extracts, whose activities were about 65% higher than the case of adding crude extract. It was also found that the nanoparticles efficiently penetrated into the cell membrane and started to destruct the cells after 6 hours cultivation under Transmision Electron Microscopy observation. These results prove that the nano-encapsulation of the horseradish extracts can be employed to directly treat into the foods and food containers for antimicrobial purposes with the aids of aerosolization system, by using small amounts of the extracts and having less flavors due to masking effects of nanoparticles.

Studies on the Physical and Thermal Properties of the Chitosan/Gelatin Blend (키토산/젤라틴 블랜드 폴리머의 물리적 및 열적 특성에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Byung-Ho;Park, Jang-Woo
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.30-37
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    • 2005
  • To mass-produce useful biopolymer films, chitosan/gelatin blend films were prepared by solution casting method. Effects of mixing ratio, tensile strength (TS), elongation (E) at break, total color difference (${\Dalta}E$), opacity, water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability (OP), and thermal properties on chitosan/gelatin blend films properties were investigated. TS, E, ${\Dalta}E$, opacity, WVP, and OP values were 58.24-22.01 MPa, 13.11-24.67%, 1.86-17.45, 0.3104-1.2161 nmO.D./${\mu}m$, $1.6875-1.7225ng{\cdot}m/m^{2}{\cdot}s{\cdot}Pa$, and $2.2380{\times}10^{-7}-2.2975{\times}10^{-7}\;mL{\cdot}{\mu}m/m^{2}{\cdot}s{\cdot}Pa$, respectively. TS of blend films decreased, while E, ${\Dalta}E$, and opacity increased with increasing chitosan content. WVP of blend films did not show any significant relationship with mixing ratio and thickness of blend films. Miscibility of films was examined over entire composition range by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). TGA results showed gelatin is more thermally stable than chitosan and some interactions among functional groups of two biopolymers. Glass transition temperature $(T_{2})$ of films as determined by DMA decreased with increasing content of chitosan in the blend. Results of thermal analysis indicate high miscibility among polymer components in the blend.

Extraction Equilibria of Succinic Acid by Using Aqueous Two Phases System Containing Imidazolium Ionic Liquids and Salts (이미다졸계 이온성액체와 염을 포함한 수상이성분계를 이용한 숙신산의 추출 평형)

  • Lee, Yong Hwa;Kang, Jeong Won;Hong, Yeon Ki;Kim, Ki-Sub
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.349-353
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    • 2014
  • Succinic acid is an important precursor in industries producing biopolymers, pharmaceutical and food additives and green solvents. However, due to the high price of petroleum and the global $CO_2$ emission, the biological production of succinic acid from renewable biomass is a novel process due to the fixation of $CO_2$ into succinate during fermentation. In this study, aqueous two phase systems based on imidazolium ionic liquids/$K_2HPO_4$ were used as an effective separation and concentration process for succinic acid. Experimental results show that aqueous two phase systems can be formed by adding appropriate amount of imidazolium ionic liquids to aqueous $K_2HPO_4$ solutions in the presence of succinic acid. It can be found that the ability of imidazolium ionic liquids for phase separation followed the order [HMIm][Br]${\fallingdotseq}$[OMIm][Br]>[BMIm][Br]>[EMIm][Br]. The maximum value of extraction efficiency for succinic acid was about 90% and the amount of coextracted water into top phase is proportional to the chain length of cation in imidazolium ionic liquids. It was concluded that the aqueous two phase systems composed of imidazolium ionic liquids/$K_2HPO_4$ was effective for the selective extraction and concentration of succinic acid.

Preparation of Sulfobetaine Chitosan, Silk Blended Films, and Their Properties (설포베타인 키토산의 실크 블렌드 필름의 제조 및 그들의 성질)

  • Koo, Ja-Sung;Cha, Jae-Ryung;Oh, Se-Heang;Gong, Myoung-Seon
    • Polymer(Korea)
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.54-61
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    • 2014
  • Water-soluble sulfobetaine chitosan (SCs) was prepared for a blending film with Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) by reacting chitosan with 1,3-propanesultone. A series of SF/SCs blended films were successfully prepared by mixing aqueous solutions of B. mori SF and SCs. The SF/SCs blended films were examined through spectroscopic and thermal analysis to determine the morphological changes of SF in the SCs. The effects of the SF/SCs blend ratios on physical and mechanical properties were investigated to discover the feasibility of using these films as biomedical materials such as artificial skin and wound dressing. X-ray analysis showed good compatibility between the two biopolymers. The in vitro degradation behavior of the SF/SCs blended films was systematically investigated for up to 8 weeks in phosphate buffered saline solution at $37^{\circ}C$ and showed a mass loss of 46.4% after 8 weeks. All films showed no cytotoxicity by MC3T3-E1 assay. After 3 days of culture, the relative cell number on all the SF/SCs films was slightly lower than that of an optimized tissue culture plastic.

Investigation on the Key Parameters for the Strengthening Behavior of Biopolymer-based Soil Treatment (BPST) Technology (바이오폴리머-흙 처리(BPST) 기술의 강도 발현 거동에 대한 주요 영향인자 분석에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Hae-Jin;Cho, Gye-Chum;Chang, Ilhan
    • Land and Housing Review
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.109-119
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    • 2021
  • Global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions has rapidly increased abnormal climate events and geotechnical engineering hazards in terms of their size and frequency accordingly. Biopolymer-based soil treatment (BPST) in geotechnical engineering has been implemented in recent years as an alternative to reducing carbon footprint. Furthermore, thermo-gelating biopolymers, including agar gum, gellan gum, and xanthan gum, are known to strengthen soils noticeably. However, an explicitly detailed evaluation of the correlation between the factors, that have a significant influence on the strengthening behavior of BPST, has not been explored yet. In this study, machine learning regression analysis was performed using the UCS (unconfined compressive strength) data for BPST tested in the laboratory to evaluate the factors influencing the strengthening behavior of gellan gum-treated soil mixtures. General linear regression, Ridge, and Lasso were used as linear regression methods; the key factors influencing the behavior of BPST were determined by RMSE (root mean squared error) and regression coefficient values. The results of the analysis showed that the concentration of biopolymer and the content of clay have the most significant influence on the strength of BPST.

Xanthan Gum Reduces Aluminum Toxicity in Camelina Roots (잔탄검 혼합에 따른 카멜리나 뿌리의 알루미늄 독성 경감 효과)

  • Shin, Jung-Ho;Kim, Hyun-Sung;Kim, Sehee;Kim, Eunsuk;Jang, Ha-young;Ahn, Sung-Ju
    • Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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    • v.8 no.3
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    • pp.135-142
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    • 2021
  • Biopolymers have been known as eco-friendly soil strengthening materials and studied to apply levees. However, the effect of biopolymer on vegetation is not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed the root growth of Camelina sativa L. (Camelina) when the xanthan gum was amended to soil in Aluminum (Al) stress conditions. Amendment of 0.05% xanthan gum increased root growth of Camelina under Al stress conditions. Under the Al stress condition, expression of aluminum activate malate transporter 1 (ALMT1) gene of Camelina root was induced but showed a lower level of expression in xanthan gum amended soil than non-amended soil. Additionally, the binding capacity of xanthan gum with Al ions in the solution was confirmed. Using morin staining and ICP-OES analysis, the Al content of the roots in the xanthan gum soil was lower than in the non-xanthan gum soil. These results suggest that xanthan gum amended soils may reduce the detrimental effects of Al on the roots and positively affect the growth of plants. Therefore, xanthan gum is not only an eco-friendly construction material but also can protect the roots in the disadvantageous environment of the plant.

The Effect of Soil Amended with β-glucan under Drought Stress in Ipomoea batatas L. (𝛽-glucan 토양혼합에 따른 고구마의 가뭄피해 저감 효과 )

  • Jung-Ho Shin;Hyun-Sung Kim;Gwan-Ju Seong;Won Park;Sung-Ju Ahn
    • Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.64-72
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    • 2023
  • Biopolymer is a versatile material used in food processing, medicine, construction, and soil reinforcement. 𝛽-glucan is one of the biopolymers that improves the soil water content and ion adsorption in a drought or toxic metal contaminated land for plant survival. We analyzed drought stress damage reduction in sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas L. cv. Sodammi) by measuring the growth and major protein expression and activity under 𝛽-glucan soil amendment. The result showed that sweet potato leaf length and width were not affected by drought stress for 14 days, but sweet potatoes grown in 𝛽-glucan-amended soil showed an effect in preventing wilting caused by drought in phenotypic changes. Under drought stress, sweet potato leaves did not show any changes in electrolyte leakage, but the relative water content was higher in sweet potatoes grown in 𝛽-glucan-amended soil than in normal soil. 𝛽-glucan soil amendment increased the expression of plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase, but it decreased the aquaporin PIP2 (plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2) in sweet potatoes under drought stress. Moreover, water maintenance affected the PM H+-ATPase activity, which contributed to tolerance under drought stress. These results indicate that 𝛽-glucan soil amendment improves the soil water content during drought and affects the water supply in sweet potatoes. Consequently, 𝛽-glucan is a potential material for maintaining soil water contents, and analysis of the major PM proteins is one of the indicators for evaluating the biopolymer effect on plant survival under drought stress.

Evaluation of applicability of xanthan gum as eco-friendly additive for EPB shield TBM soil conditioning (친환경 첨가제로서 잔탄검의 토압식 쉴드 TBM 쏘일 컨디셔닝 적용성 평가)

  • Suhyeong Lee;Hangseok Choi;Kibeom Kwon;Byeonghyun Hwang
    • Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.209-222
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    • 2024
  • The Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) shield Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is widely used for underground tunnel construction for its advantages, such as eliminating the need for additional facilities compared to the slurry shield TBM, which requires Slurry Treatment Plant (STP). During EPB shield TBM excavation, a soil conditioning technique is employed to enhance the physical properties of the excavated soil by injecting additives, thus broadening the range of applicable ground conditions to EPB shield TBMs. This study explored the use of xanthan gum, a type of biopolymer, as an alternative to the commonly used polymer additive. Biopolymers, derived from biological sources, are fully biodegradable. In contrast to traditional polymers such as polyacrylic acid, which contain environmentally harmful components, xanthan gum is gaining attention as an eco-friendly material due to its minimal toxicity and environmental impact. Test conditions with similar workability were established through slump tests, and the rheological characteristics were assessed using a laboratory pressurized vane shear test apparatus. The experiments demonstrated that, despite exhibiting similar workability, the peak strength in the flow curve decreased with increasing the content of xanthan gum. Consequently, a correlation between the xanthan gum content and peak strength was established. Replacing the traditional polymers with xanthan gum could enable stable EPB shield TBM operation by reducing equipment load, in addition to offering environmental benefits.

Melanogenesis regulatory constituents from Premna serratifolia wood collected in Myanmar

  • WOO, SO-YEUN
    • Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2019.04a
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    • pp.21-22
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    • 2019
  • Melanin is a mixture of pigmented biopolymers synthesized by epidermal melanocytes that determine the skin, eye, and hair colors. Melanocytes produce two different kinds of melanin, eumelanin (dark brown/black insoluble pigments found in dark skin and dark hair and pheomelanin (lighter red/yellow). The biological role of melanin is to prevent skin damage by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the overproduction or deficiency of melanin synthesis could lead to serious dermatological problems, which include melasma, melanoderma, lentigo, and vitiligo. Therefore, regulating melanin production is important to prevent the pigmentation disorders. Myanmar has a rich in natural resources. However, the chemical constituents of these natural resources in Myanmar have not been fully investigated. In the effort to search for compounds with anti-melanin deposition activity from Myanmar natural resources, five plants were collected in Myanmar. Extracts of these collected five plants were tested for anti-melanin deposition activity against a mouse melanoma cell line (B16-F10) induced with ${\alpha}$-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (${\alpha}$-MSH) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), and their anti-melanin deposition activities were compared with the positive control, arbutin. Among the tested extracts, the CHCl3 extracts of the Premna serratifolia (syn: P. integrifolia) wood showed anti-melanin deposition activities with IC50 values of $81.3{\mu}g/mL$. Hence, this study aims to identify secondary metabolites with anti-melanin deposition activity from P. serratifolia wood of Myanmar. P. serratifolia belongs to the Verbenaceae family and is widely distributed in near western sea coast from South Asia to South East Asia, which include India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. People in Tanintharyi region located in the southern part of Myanmar utilize the P. serratifolia, Sperethusa crenulata, Naringi crenulata, and Limonia acidissima as Thanaka, traditional cosmetics in Myanmar. Thanaka is applied in the form of paste onto skins to make it smooth and clear, as well as to prevent wrinkles, skin aging, excessive facial oil, pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads. However, the chemical constituents responsible for their cosmetic properties are yet to be identified. Moreover, the chemical constituents of P. serratifolia was almost uncharacterized. Investigation of the P. serratifolia chemical constituents is thus an attractive endeavor to discover new anti-melanin deposition active compounds. The investigation of the chemical constituents of the active CHCl3 extract of P. serratifolia led to isolation of four new lignoids, premnan A (1), premnan B (2), taungtangyiol C (3), and 7,9-dihydroxydolichanthin B (4), together with premnan C (5) (assumed to be an artifact), one natural newlignoid,(3R,4S)-4-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-ylcarbonyl)-3-[(R)-1-(1,3-benzo dioxol-5-yl)-1-hydroxy methyl]tetrahydro-2-furanone (6), and five known compounds (7-11)1,2). The structures of all isolated compounds were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic data and by comparison with the reported literatures. The absolute configurations of 1-3 and 5 were also determined by optical rotation and circular dichroism (CD) data analyses1). The anti-melanin deposition activities of all the isolated compounds were evaluated against B16-F10 cell line. 7,9-Dihydroxydolichanthin B (4) and ($2{\alpha},3{\alpha}$)-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (11) showed strong anti-melanin deposition activities with IC50 values of 18.4 and $11.2{\mu}M$, respectively, without cytotoxicity2). On the other hand, compounds 1-3, 5, and 7 showed melanogenesis enhancing activities1). To better understand their anti-melanin deposition mechanism, the effects of 4 and 11 on tyrosinase activities were investigated. The assay indicated that compounds 4 and 11 did not inhibit tyrosinase. Furthermore, we also examined the mRNA expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2). Compounds 4 and 11 down-regulated the expression of Tyr and Mitf mRNAs, respectively. Although the P. serratifolia wood has been used as traditional cosmetics in Myanmar for centuries, there are no scientific evidences to support its effectiveness as cosmetics. Investigation of the anti-melanin deposition activity of the chemical constituents of P. serratifolia thus provided insight into the effectiveness of the P. serratifolia wood as a cosmetic agent.

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